King Henry VIII of England solved his marital and financial problems by making himself head of the Church. But he threw his country into chaos. The seats of learning and privilege, the monasteries, had to be dissolved as a result. Commissioner Robin Singleton was sent by Lord Thomas Cromwell to investigate stories of lechery and illegal land sales at the Monastery at Scarnsea. He was murdered for his trouble; a bloody beheading. Hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake was chosen to find out what happened quickly and secretly before the scandal got to the King's ears.
Matthew found plenty of evidence of lack of obedience to the Benedictine rule and soft and lecherous living. He ruled out the simpler monks and servants as being responsible for the killing and concentrated on the senior monks; since the sword was a gentleman's weapon. Young Simon Whelplay, weak and ill and badly treated by the Prior, had a story to tell, but was murdered before he could report. The missing sword was found in the marsh together with the body of a young woman servant who was thought to have run away with two golden chalices. Matthew returned to London to find out who the owner of the sword had been. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 50 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |